21st January, 2008

Green tea is a better option than coffee for pregnant women:

Drinking a couple of cups of coffee a day has long been considered safe during pregnancy. However, doctors are split on this commonly accepted “fact”. Some advising avoiding caffeine altogether and others saying buzz-inducing beverages are still safe in moderation.

Recently an article by Steve Mitchell for MSNBC has once again brought new evidence to the debate as to whether it is safe to drink coffee while you are pregnant. Mitchell reported the findings of the study led by DR. De-Kun Li, a researcher at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California. The study concluded that a daily habit of drinking 200 milligrams of caffeine – an amount typically found in just two cups of coffee – significantly increases the risk of miscarriage. Also the source of caffeine – whether from coffee, tea or sodas does not make a difference. The study was published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Editor’s note: We mention above the source of caffeine includes tea, this is referring to black tea which has been fermented and contains much higher concentrations of caffeine than green tea, which has a much smaller amount of caffeine when compared to coffee.